this technology class is a good start for me to have the ability to challenge my students with a new form of literacy.  It causes me as the educator to come out of my comfort zone and design something worth learning about.  After all, I do teach tomorrow why not use 21^st century materials.

Foshay discusses the benefits of allowing students to create digital video.  It allows students to be more confident because of what they are creating.  Creating these videos are motivating and can serve as an assessment of what a student has learned about a certain subject. 

Although I don’t feel confident enough in allowing my students to conduct a digital video and go throught the editing process because I teach first grade.  I believe there are easy ways that can serve the same purpose while engaging my students such as the digital texts or even pocasting.  I do believe that older kids could enjoy this and really be motivated by this type of experience.

 For me Animoto was extremely easy.  I uploaded pictures of different Eric Carle books and then chose music to go with it.  Animoto along with photo story also allows you to add text to your creation. 

 I plan to allow my students in the upcoming year to use digital cameras (I want to set up an account on donors choose to obtain money to purchase a class set).  The possibilities of how they can work in groups to create stories with photos they take are endless.  Students can take pictures at home, on field trips, of their classmates, the school as well as school staff.  I feel that students will be excited and motivated to complete a task such as this using technology.

When thinking of my class and younger children they often have track print.  Teachers would have to instruct their children in a different way such as tracking print with a mouse.  If the end of grade test are going to children reading selections digitally then children need practice.  They need texts that are on their level and that prepares them for a computer based EOG.  I personally am a bad test taker.  I get extremely anxious over tests.  I have always made good grades but never on major tests (SAT, PRAXIS, GRE, MAT) As this type of person I know that we should offer all children the ability to take these EOG’s via digitially or traditionally. 

I plan to begin my children this year with tarheelreader.  I have already shared this site via email with my first grade team.  I think it is wonderful for beginning readers.

I hope to use the webquest that I created on trackingstar4teachers when I teach my first graders about plants.  I also plan on teaching this website to my colleagues and hopefully together we can create many of these webquest to meet our standards in science as well as other subjects while keeping the students engaged.

Recently I read an article in a teacher magazine of how a teacher in Alaska used Skype to teach her students who could not get to school because of weather conditions.  This was a great way to continue class despite mother nature.  However, many people would argue that not all students may have internet connection and there is so much said about the face to face learning experience that children recieve.  Some educators are afraid that this might or could be what education could go to.  However, I believe that we should use a tool such as this to enhance our students experiences. 

One way I would like to use skype in the classroom is with a friend in a neighboring county.  I would like for her third grade students to read books to our first grade class and create a buddy system.  I have also thought of using skype for field trips.  So much funding has been cut back for field trips.  This would be an awesome way to “take” students places that we can not afford to go.

Social bookmarking is a great way to collaborate with anyone.  I can think of many ways my husband could be using this with his clients as they are choosing things for their house.  They could create bookmarks for him to look at certain styles and he could share bookmarks of products that he thinks would work out for them.  Often he emails sites to clients.

As an educator I am often sharing websites that I find helpful or interesting.  Even our technology gurus are emailing lists of websites and pages that we can use in the classroom.  Social bookmarking is a much easier way to collaborate helpful sites and places to find information. 

I plan to use social bookmarking and begin setting it up on my classroom computers as soon as school begins.  I have several different websites that I want my students to go to as part of a center and this would be an easy way to help them.

As children write or provide points for their arguments they have to take consideration of their readers position.  Traditional debate through writing a paper that was read only by a teacher or sitting in on a discussion in class doesn’t allow readers to revisit the discussion.  Through discussion boards readers can return to what the writer said and what the person after them said on a particular topic. 

Threaded discussion boards would be a great way to see what students think about a certain book or class project.  For example I was thinking of creating a discussion board for my class later in the year (possibly after Christmas) and posting a certain book that we have shared.  Next allowing students to post their comments about the book.  I think we could conduct literature circles through discussion threads as well.  This past year we created poems about various plants.  As a closing project I could allow the various groups to share how they felt about one another poems.

The negative aspect that I see of discussion boards is that as students “argue” or present their feelings they are not face to face with who they are talking to therefore not enhancing eye contact, public speaking skills or confidence in speaking to a group and debating.

Twitter reminds me of IM.  I remember using IM at Lenoir Rhyne to send instant messages to my friends about going to dinner, library or just out. Twitter reminds me of that except it allows you to put a picture with your messages.